Aniki
by CorneroftheMoon
Summary: Prequel to Miyako. Shigure, a nine year old, receives the news that he's going to be a big brother. This is a short fic about Shigure meeting Miyako for the very first time. REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

_**A**_**uthor's Note: **Welcome to the "Miyako" prequel! If you haven't read Miyako, you don't have to read it first, but you have to read it after this, or if you want to go in order, before! Thanks, and enjoy this story! PLEASE REVIEW! Also, if I have time, I will update tomorrow, if not, the day after that. Then I'll get into updating every day. I just have a lot of work to do.

_**Chapter One- Shigure's Pov**_

__"Hurry up Tori, Aaya's getting away!" I called to one of my best friends who was lagging behind me. We were chasing after a boy our age, whose long white hair flowed out behind him as he ran away from us, Ayame.

"I don't like tag! Can't we play something else?" Hatori begged, struggling to keep up. We were playing two against one tag, something that kept all the children in the Sohma house endlessly entertained each boring and long summer day.

"Let's finish up this game first, and then you can pick a game!" I yelled behind me, and struggled to catch up with Aaya, who was surprisingly fast even with his short nine year old legs.

I heard Hatori sigh, and then glanced behind me to see him speeding up, now having motivation to chase after the white haired of our group. We were running through the grassy sun-lit meadow that was nestled in the thick forest that surrounded the house we all lived in together. This was our favorite place to play in, not only were we hidden from the sight of our parents and the older of the zodiacs, but it was light and warm during the summer, and it always got the most snow during the winter months.

"Got you!" I cried as my hand just barely touched Ayame's back. The snake graciously stopped, as did I, causing Hatori to almost run into me.

"Alright Tori, what do you want to do?" Aaya asked, obviously a little disappointed that he had been captured. Usually our tag games lasted until our mother's called us back, Ayame always being the last one who wasn't it, unless it was his turn to start the game off.

Hatori shrugged, his breath normal, unlike Aaya's and my own, we were panting and sweating whilst the dragon just stood there, looking at us. He never really was one to get up and run like Ayame or I, he didn't have to be constantly moving. But still, he was part of our group of three, the three best friends, the three boys. Although, there was Kureno, but he seemed to keep his distance from us, from everyone, clinging to whatever grown-up was with him. But that was alright, we were all satisfied by our small group.

"What about hide and seek?" I suggested, causing Ayame's face to automatically brighten. All of us, even Hatori, liked hide and seek. There were so many places, so many secret hide outs that scattered the property, that very rarely did we ever find each other in one day, much like our tag games. When you have so little to do, nowhere to go, you have to learn to prolong whatever you do, and that we did.

"Alright." Hatori consented. Ayame consented to being it, with some begging and pleading from me, and the knowledge that if we made Hatori it, he would go back to the house instead of looking for us, a way to get us to come out, then he would win without doing any of the work.

As Ayame leaned against a tree, counting slowly to fifty two times, because none of us knew how to count to one-hundred all the way, I darted off into the brush, careful to make a noise to make Ayame the slightest bit aware of which direction I was going in, or that I was going into the brush. But instead of running far, far away from the snake, as Hatori no doubt was attempting, I simply went up. I climbed a nice, strong and tall tree that was leaning over the meadow, and shimmied up to the highest branches that were still able to support me.

By doing this, I could not only see the still counting Ayame, but the running Hatori, and everything else as well. I could even see brief glimpses of the courtyards that were scattered around inside the Sohma house.

This was a great hiding spot! I could even see my mother, who was standing on the porch, looking out towards the East, where she thought we had gone, but in fact, it was just a ploy to stop them from finding us. We would disappear into the East forest, and then quickly turn around and head west, cloaked by branches, twigs, and underbrush. I laughed quietly to myself, the simple knowledge that I had outwitted my overly-protective mother delighted me.

But then, I saw her step forward and then, hold her hands to her mouth. That could only mean one thing was going to happen. _"Shigure!" _I heard her voice float through the branches, and reach my ears.

I debated simply staying here, hoping that she would just give up, but when she called another two times, and made no move to retreat back inside the house, I, grudgingly, climbed down the tree and raced east, so as to emerge where I had entered.

"There you are Shigure, I called you many times, where were you?" My mother glared down at me.

"I was playing behind the bushes; they obstruct the sound a lot. But then Aaya got up to see if he could reach a lizard that was on the trunk of a tree, he heard you, and told me to go and see what you wanted." I explained quickly. I was exceptionally skilled at making up excuses for anything, and everything. I, as well as my two other friends, tended to get in trouble, generally together, but sometimes separated.

She sighed. "I need to tell you something, a surprise, and I just know you're going to be excited." My mother had a small smile on her face. Instead of making me excited, it made me nervous. She never got me presents, or gave me surprises. And she rarely smiled, especially at me.

My mother may not have asked to forget me, but she certainly didn't love me. She just felt obliged to take care of me, or that's what she had told my father. But I continued to look up at her with my brown eyes, waiting.

But I could never have been ready for what she said.

"You're going to be a big brother Shigure!" And then she went back inside, leaving me to stand alone outside. A big brother, that implied I would have a little sibling. A sibling.


	2. Chapter 2

"_You're going to be a big brother Shigure!" And then she went back inside, leaving me to stand alone outside. A big brother, that implied I would have a little sibling. A sibling._

_**Chapter Two- Shigure's Pov**_

Over time, my mother's stomach began to grow larger, until she looked like she carried one of the large balls that my friends and I played with during the summer months underneath her clothes. But the summer months had long passed; now we were passing into the cold end of fall.

I sat next to Ayame, watching the pond ripple as leave fell in. We were both bundled up tightly in our coats, both of our mothers' forcing us to put them on, as to protect us from the bitter cold wind that twisted and turned through the dry and almost empty trees, lashing out and viciously biting at any uncovered skin. I hated these months. I enjoyed the warm fall, when the leaves still made that crunchy fresh sound, when we could still play with merely a long-sleeved shirt. But those precious moments had come and gone, leaving us with this.

"I'm so bored, there's nothing to do around here anymore!" I sighed, falling back onto the browning grass. Ayame did the same.

"Yes, and with Tori sick, there's nobody to annoy." Ayame frowned, obviously suffering from the lack of anyone telling him to calm down, or to be quiet. It was all the snake ever did, annoy Hatori, but secretly, I guessed that Aaya just liked Hatori, and was desperate for his attention.

But unfortunately, Hatori had gotten a cold earlier this week. Perhaps that was the reason that we were bundled in two coats and a thick scarf. Talk seemed to travel so fast, as if the walls were unable to hold any of the secrets they absorbed.

Ayame sighed once more, and leaned his head against his palm, looking at me. "What do you think it'll be, that baby?" He asked, curiously.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I want it to be a boy, girls are boring. All they ever do is sit inside, like mom, and talk."

Ayame nodded. "But what if it is a little sister? What would you do then? Besides, we don't actually know any girls; the only ones we know are our mothers. What if they do more than just sit around and chat?" I reflected on this for a moment.

"I don't know. I guess what happens will happen. My mom told me that she's hoping that this one won't be a zodiac, so she can have a normal child." Something inside of me, and I'm sure inside of Aaya, flinched as soon as the word _normal _came out of my lips. Normal, it was something neither I, nor the snake could ever be. We were cursed, and would be cursed until the end of our lives on earth, and then the spirits would move on, take up another body. Or so we had been told by our mothers.

Our mothers played such a large role in our lives, much more so than our fathers. Our fathers left us alone, they were hardly around anyways. They had work to go to in the city, they left early in the morning, when we were rarely awake, and came back late at night, when our mothers had already put us to bed. On the infrequent night or morning, when I did catch a glimpse of my father, or late at night when I could hear the voices of my two parents talking, my father always looked, and sounded so tired. Often their conversations would contain me, or the sentences _I wish things had been different, normal. Why did this have to happen to us? _And every time I heard that, every time I saw that tired and worn down look on my father's face, I blamed myself. I blamed myself for the dark circles that always seemed to appear underneath my mother's eyes, the irritation that slipped out in her voice, even when I believed I had done nothing wrong. I blamed myself for not being normal.

And the truth was, I truly was hoping, really hoping, for the sake of our family, that the new baby would be normal. That it wouldn't be cursed by the same horrible spell that had befallen me and my friends. That it wouldn't cause those dark circles, those tired looks. I hoped that the new baby, my new sibling, would bring energy to my father, bring happiness to my mother, that it would be normal. That it would be the child that my parents had always wanted and that I could never be.

"Do you know when it will be coming at least?" Aaya asked, still pressing, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. "Soon, any day is what the doctor keeps saying. He's coming in every day now, instead of every week."

"And how are your parents preparing?" I shrugged.

"They've put a crib in their room next to their bed, and they've bought all these clothes, white, blue, pink, and green. They even bought shoes, coats, and blankets. But I suppose that makes sense, the winter is coming on quickly this year. Last year we could still play in that meadow by this time." I complained.

Ayame nodded. "I know! But until the snow comes it's too open." I sighed and nodded. Ayame was right, of course. And with his heightened temperature sensitivity, we couldn't risk getting the snake cold. I on the other hand, was quite adapted to the cold, not that I liked it any better than the heat or the sunny days that summer brought.

Suddenly, I saw one of the maids that patrolled the household running towards us, shuffling as fast as she could in her tightly tied kimono.

Glancing at Ayame, we both stood up, and went to greet her since she was obviously here for us.

And the words that came out of her mouth next, should've been a shock, should've been a worry, but to me, they weren't. "You're mother's having her baby, we need to get you and your friend back to the house." She gushed, and then placed hands on our backs, and guided us to the house, where I saw many of the maids rushing to and fro.

_Finally._


	3. Chapter 3

_And the words that came out of her mouth next, should've been a shock, should've been a worry, but to me, they weren't. "You're mother's having her baby, we need to get you and your friend back to the house." She gushed, and then placed hands on our backs, and guided us to the house, where I saw many of the maids rushing to and fro._

_Finally._

_**Chapter Four- Shigure's Pov**_

I had been staring at the paper door for hours now, not allowed into the doctor's chambers with my mother. I didn't really understand why, but I just had to sit, and stare. Just sit, and listen to the sounds that came from inside, the screams, the reassurance, and then, finally, a new sound.

A sound that would officially change my life forever. Crying, a soft, gently crying, not like I had remembered when we would catch segments of the cries of babies far away from our house, our gated home. It was not harsh, not demanding, just a small, reminder, that my new sibling was there.

"Do you want to come and meet your new little sibling?" A maid asked, coming out of the room, sliding the door open for me. I nodded, jumping up and going inside, the maid gently closing the door behind me. And as I approached the bed where my mother sat, holding her new child, I noticed two things.

One, the baby was nothing like I had ever seen before. I had seen pictures of Ayame, myself, and Hatori that had been taken by a caring maid, of us as newborns. We were red, wrinkly, and bald. But this new child, wrapped in a soft blanket, was beautiful. It had pale skin, not unhealthy, but just, delicate. It also had a mop of hair, a dark color, but it was wet, which made it impossible to see the color, but I assumed it would be the regular black. And the most important thing was, the glow that she radiated, just a glow, that made everyone smile, and I knew would make everyone that met her, smile too.

"Finally, a normal child." My mother sighed happily, holding the child closer. "Come, meet Miyako, Shigure, your sister." I walked closer, and studied the baby. She was even more beautiful up close, her features already delicate, her eyes looking up at me, with my chocolate eyes. Chocolate eyes, that neither of my parents had, nor their parents before them, just me, and now, Miyako.

"Well? What do you think?" She looked from me to my father, and then back to the baby's face.

"She's beautiful." My father smiled, looking down from over my mother's shoulder.

I nodded, staring wide eyed.

"Would you like to hold him?" My mother asked my father.

He nodded, and held out his arms. Gently, my mother lowered her into his arms, and he closed them securely around his daughter.

And then it occurred to me, just as he smiled down at her, only my mother had held the young girl, Miyako had my brown eyes, my canine eyes. I opened my mouth to warn my father, but it was too late.

With a gentle _poof, _my little sister was no longer a new born baby.

Instead, a small creature, with fuzzy red hair, lay nestled into my father's elbow, her eyes closed in peaceful rest, happily enjoying the warmth, the light, even snow had begun to fall, and a cold wind blew outside.

In my father's arms, there was a fox, a small, tiny, fox kit.

I hardly looked up once my mother began to scream; only acting when my father thrust the fox into the waiting arms of the doctor. Quickly, I grabbed the small kit, and gentle stroked her soft fur. Her eyes opened, her glowing golden brown eyes staring into mine, and I felt, that she knew who I was. Already, she knew that I wasn't going to hurt her.

And as my mother and father continued to yell at the doctor, asking how it was possible, arguing that there wasn't even a fox in the zodiac, I simply stared back. And then, Miyako closed her eyes, and slept in my arms.

I slipped away from the rest, and carried her carefully to her crib, placing her in the blankets.

I would do this every night, removing her every morning, taking care of her along with the help of maids. All my mother would do, every day, was stare outside, not talking, not looking at either of her two children. My father was gone, for good. He told my mother, after she was done with all this, to come and find him, to which she agreed.

But every time I saw her, she would stare at me with those eyes, a big smile coming across her face, even as an infant. Then, as she learned to walk, she would use a burst of daring energy, to run to me, to hug me, for I was one of the only ones she could.

She could also hug Ayame and Hatori, who grew fond of her, and as she grew, we let her play with us in the meadow. She couldn't keep up with us, but she tried, until she discovered that if she ran enough, she would eventually transform, and then, she could easily match our speed.

This went on every day, until she turned four. Four years old. We had celebrated, just Ayame, Hatori, Miyako, and I, together, in a small area we had discovered. The maids had made us bean cakes for the occasion, and we had just given our gifts. Ayame had gotten her a small figurine that was shaped in a fox, which she loved. Then, Hatori gave her a large package of sweets, which I knew wouldn't last a few minutes once we returned to our rooms, with both Miyako and I there to eat them. Then, came my gift. I got her a large, soft, stuffed dog, on its collar, a small, etched fox was shining happily. This delighted her, earning me, and the plush dog, and tight and enthusiastic hug.

But that wasn't when things changed, it was later that night. We were in bed, and almost asleep, when we heard two sets of footsteps.

"Miyako sweetie, come here." Our mother's voice called. But Miyako didn't recognize it, she had never remembered ever heard it, never once.

I led her to the living room, pushing her through the door, and then watching the scene unfold as I closed the door, seeing only though a crack for I had sensed I was not welcomed.

"You're going to stay with Ren for a while, all right? You'll have lots of fun with her, she's very nice, I promise!" I remembered that smile that was on my mother's face, a smile that masked disgust, hatred, dislike.

Miyako nodded, and then took the hand of a woman who was blocked by the door, outside the vision of what I could see through the crack.

"Come with me Miyako." And then, she was gone.

_The Beginning_

_**Author's Note: **_And so this concludes Aniki. I know, it ended fast, but I wasn't feeling as inspired as I thought I would be, sorry! But I will be writing a Harry Potter fic, or a Kyo fic, whichever comes first. So please, stick around! Things will get a lot better! PROMISE! Tell me what you want me to write, what movie/book/anime/tv, or if you want me to write another Fruits Basket (which I would love to) tell me which characters. Also tell me characters for the others. Love you all! -Echo


End file.
